Ashworth named LSCO employee of the month for February 2016

Published 10:10 am, Friday, February 19, 2016

Sgt. Investigator Jeff Ashworth is the Employee of the Month for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office for the month of February 2016.

Sgt. Investigator Jeff Ashworth is the Employee of the Month for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office for the month of February 2016.

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Ashworth named LSCO employee of the month for February 2016

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Veteran police officer Jeff Ashworth is the employee of the month for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office for the month of February 2016. Ashworth, a sergeant investigator for the sheriff’s office, was tapped by Sheriff Bobby Rader’s selection committee for Ashworth’s recent work on a missing person case in Liberty County.

Working alone, Ashworth brought the case to a successful and safe conclusion after it initially had all the earmarks of a possible foul play situation.

The missing person case was for a woman whose car was found abandoned in the Crosby area. Texas EquuSearch, the nationally known search organization, was called and placed on standby to respond with search volunteers in the event the worse case scenario developed.

“Even though this missing person case was several days old, Sgt. Ashworth started walking the area in which the car was located until he made contact with witnesses who saw the woman talking to a Harris County Sheriff’s Unit earlier. A further check with Harris County determined the missing woman may, in fact, be staying at a shelter for women in downtown Houston,” said Capt. Ken DeFoor, spokesperson for the sheriff’s office. “The time frame was important to the sergeant because, according to the report, this woman was poorly dressed for the very cold winter weather that existed at the time she went missing.”

During the following days of this investigation, Ashworth conducted his follow-up without the use of the advanced technology seen on so many police-related television shows. Rather he conducted this investigation in the tried and proven method of walking city streets and talking to people seeking information that might lead to the whereabouts of this missing person.

Ashworth personally walked the downtown Houston streets where the homeless are known to gather and he also talked personally to every shelter manager in the downtown area, showing a photograph of the missing woman to everyone who he felt might have seen her.

“Then finally, while walking near one of the shelters, he saw a crowd of homeless people standing together in the cold winter day of January and there, among the crowd, he spotted the missing woman. Sgt. Ashworth continued to work with the woman until she was safely and warmly returned to a safe place and her concerned family members notified that she was alive and well,” DeFoor said. “It was this kind of determination and concern that earned the respect of Sgt. Ashworth’s supervisors who nominated him for this monthly award.”

Ashworth graduated from Lamar University Regional Police Academy in May of 1997. His 12 years of service with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office has gained him the reputation of being a good investigator who takes very serious each case that is assigned to him. He holds an advanced certification in law enforcement with over 1,600 hours in various fields of study such as Hostage Negotiations, Civil Process, Critical Incident Team Management, Certified Cyber Crime Specialist, Investigations of Human Remains Recovery, to name only a few.

When asked about his most memorable call, Ashworth said it was in 2003 while serving a warrant on a man for sexual abuse of a child.

“Upon entering the home, Sgt. Ashworth found the man hiding behind a stack of garbage sacks in a darkened room. As he pulled the sacks of trash from in front of the man, the suspect pulled a gun and took his own life within two feet of Jeff’s face. Needless to say, this is a sobering sight that has lingered with Sgt. Ashworth for many years and is a constant reminder of the tragedy that some people brings upon not only themselves but the helpless victims of such abuse,” DeFoor said.

He and his wife are the parents of two children. Aside from family time, his other activities include weightlifting and body building.

Ashworth is proud of his family’s law enforcement heritage as his father, brother, uncle and two cousins are all peace officers in either Texas or Louisiana.